Transform into a magical girl after getting off work

Under normal circumstances, Lin Yun's daily routine was very regular.

He would wake up at 6:30 in the morning and rest at 11:30 at night, repeating this cycle to ensure he had enough mental energy to handle his work.

His biological clock was equally precise, and he would inevitably open his eyes promptly at around six o'clock unless he was overly fatigued.

However, there's always an exception to the rule. The night before, after finishing work, he had taught a lesson to two magical girls; then he rushed to the sewer and fought his way through an entire nest of pupa-stage Remnant Beasts; and finally, had a lengthy phone call with Hong Siyu to verify the situation. By the time the back of his head touched the pillow, it was already five in the morning.

As a result, he had overslept.

When Lin Yun opened his eyes from his drowsiness, it was already 7:05.

He glanced at the space beside him, then picked up the mobile phone on his bedside table, and his eyes gradually widened as he saw the time displayed on the lock screen. Tossing aside the blanket and stepping into his slippers, he hurried towards the wardrobe.

Rushing through his washing in the bathroom, Lin Yun brushed his hair with a toothbrush in his mouth, buttoned up his shirt while rinsing, and amidst the bustle, he couldn't help but recall the phone call that had caused him to sleep especially late:

The conversation from last night had not yielded much information, according to Hong Siyu's account: During her two years in Fangting City, sightings of the Remnant Beasts were rare, with the only encounter with an Inchworm being provided by Lin Xiaolu during the attack she experienced, let alone a pupa.

If it hadn't been for Lin Yun personally heading to the sewer to kill the pupa, it might have remained undetected until it developed into a "molt"—and by that stage, Fangting City could have faced a catastrophe.

Lin Yun did not entirely believe this.

Setting aside whether he trusted Hong Siyu—if possible, he did not wish to doubt a former junior—the information provided by Hong Siyu might already be the extent of what she could find, but the Abnormal Strategy Bureau's database might not contain everything.

Rather, Lin Yun's suspicion was directed towards the Abnormal Strategy Bureau itself; he felt that they were still hiding something. The underground force in Fangting City was too conspicuous, and the Bureau should not be completely unaware.

He knew that the Abnormal Strategy Bureau was helpless against magic-related forces involved with the Remnant Beasts, but they shouldn't be entirely lacking information.

The current situation only left two possibilities: either the Abnormal Strategy Bureau was a bunch of useless, good-for-nothing bumblers, which he could live with; or the Bureau actually knew things, which a very few people controlled, and such information wasn't even entered into their database.

Lin Yun much preferred the latter scenario, so he had to meet with the local high-ranking officials of the Abnormal Strategy Bureau.

Even if the enemy only had a name, he had to get that name.

But as an ordinary citizen, requesting to meet with the high-level officials of an exclusive institution like the Abnormal Strategy Bureau was wishful thinking; he had to reveal an identity to oblige them to meet him.

He had such an identity, even two of them, but it was tough to choose between them. He was uncertain whether to go as Lin Yun or as the Magical Girl, Emerald Sparrow.

Under the identity of Lin Yun, he was a relative of both the late Magical Girl "Sakura" and the current Magical Girl "Bai Mei".

The Abnormal Strategy Bureau's approach to handling the identities of Magical Girls was "bidirectional secrecy", except for specific high-level officials and the liaisons directly in contact with Magical Girls, they would neither reveal the true identity of Magical Girls to others nor inform the relatives of Magical Girls about the information related to the Magic side.

In this regard, they actually did very well, even attending An Ya's funeral without revealing their origins and not communicating any messages to Lin Yun—after all, 19 years had passed, Lin Yun's liaison had long been promoted to headquarters, and the former high-level officials had retired one after another. The ultimate result of bidirectional secrecy was that even the local Abnormal Strategy Bureau didn't know Lin Yun's true identity. The true identity of the Magical Girl "Emerald Sparrow" had long since become a secret archived and thrown into the central bureau's database.

However, if Lin Yun indicated that he was already aware of his wife and daughter's true identities and had some understanding of the Magic side's series of knowledge, then the nature of the situation would be completely different. As a relative of a sacrificed Magical Girl, he had every right to demand a meeting with the executives of the Abnormal Strategy Bureau and to be informed of the related truths. At that time, the Abnormal Strategy Bureau, other than requiring him to sign an agreement not to disclose information about the Magic side to the public, had no means to restrain him.

The advantage of this plan was that it was robust. While he could meet with the top brass of the Abnormal Strategy Bureau, it wouldn't alarm anyone in the Bureau with unclear motives. The downside was that the information obtained might still be incomplete, as the other party might not be willing to disclose everything due to him being a civilian.

As for using the identity of Emerald Sparrow, that was easy to say—the other party would certainly not dare to hide anything and would reveal everything they knew.

But this course of action would have far-reaching effects: firstly, Emerald Sparrow's liaison with the Abnormal Strategy Bureau was Hong Siyu, whose information was processed, and the Bureau only knew of her as "Bai Mei's companion". Once she revealed her original background, it might alarm the mysterious forces hidden within Fangting City; secondly, she had not officially come back yet, only operating within a small range in Fangting City. If news of her return reached the Magic Kingdom, it might cause unnecessary trouble.

In light of this, Hong Siyu also proposed to mobilize Lin Xiaolu, letting her contact the Abnormal Strategy Bureau, but Lin Yun always felt that it was risky to let his daughter be the operator, as she might just be fooled by the other party. In the end, he vetoed that idea. Moreover, he did not wish to deceive his daughter again under the guise of Emerald Sparrow.

After weighing the options, Lin Yun chose to proceed cautiously and meet with the Abnormal Strategy Bureau as "Lin Yun".

Following various discussions about details and tugging over the distribution of work responsibilities, Lin Yun continued discussing with Hong Siyu all the way until dawn was near. It was only after arranging all the matters that they concluded the long phone call.

It really was quite an ordeal.

Yawning lengthily, Lin Yun, standing in front of the mirror and mocking himself, took a look at his appearance: aside from the heavy dark circles under his eyes, he managed to make himself look somewhat presentable. He didn't spend any more time on it, grabbed the suit jacket hanging on the chair back, and walked toward the door with long strides.

As he opened the main bedroom door, he habitually glanced to the left but saw that the door next to his was also ajar. Lin Xiaolu, with her hair in disarray, emerged from her room, sleepy-eyed, holding a leather strap in an attempt to tidy up the hair at the back of her head, but as she shifted her gaze, it met his.

Standing in the corridor at their doorways, father and daughter fell into an odd silence.

In the end, it was Lin Xiaolu who broke the deadlock, pretending as if she hadn't seen anything, stepped back a few paces into her room, and with a "click", closed the door.

About two minutes later, she reopened the door, pretending nothing had happened, peering around as if to walk out, but found Lin Yun still standing at the doorway.

"Why haven't you left yet?"

After a brief awkwardness, she glared at Lin Yun.

Lin Yun, now wearing his coat and tying his tie, seeing that she was getting upset just as she was leaving, couldn't help but sigh and said, "I was about to ask you the same thing. You're leaving at this hour? You're going to be late, aren't you?"